Pearls and Diamond trade - the age of Recommerce 

The high-carat blue or pink diamonds, Kashmir sapphires, colourless stones, Colombian emeralds, and Burmese rubies are the top draws of the rare jewellery auctions. 

The different colours like the vibrant red rubies, the stone of nobles- sapphires, and the emeralds have higher desirability rates in the market, where many collectors and celebrities want to own and showcase them.  

An emerald Beaumont Necklace recently gained $3.6 million at the Sotheby's auction in Geneva, where its estimated price was double the previously achieved $1.1 million in 1994. 

This extraordinary piece was designed by Van Cleef & Arpels and was a transformable jewel that can be detached and worn as a bracelet or a necklace. 

Celebrities have showcased many such pieces this year at the Oscars, where Lady Gaga endorsed the vintage design that echoed Audrey Hepburn's 128-carat yellow diamond by Tiffany (in 1961). 

Vintage Collectables 

The auction houses are selling magnificent jewels this year, where the Christie New York raised $30m from selling such pieces in April. 

In November last year, Sotheby held a record-breaking auction of a hundred royal jewels, where Marie-Antoinette's pearl and diamond pendant got $36.1m.  

Due to its uniqueness and high value, such pieces are rare vintage prized possessions like the blue Hope diamond, held at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington. Hope was a 41.11-carat stone found in Botswana. 

These are rare as ten such pieces can be found only after digging more than 10,000-carat diamonds from mines, while the blue ones are astonishing, where a medium-toned 1-carat stone is expected to get, on average, $200,000.

Millennials seek personalized Ethical Pieces. 

• The personal luxury goods market hit a new record in 2018 at $292 billion, where 42% of buyers said they wanted ethical gemstones. 

• Some buyers said it was difficult to get solid gold items earlier, but the new designs made from recyclable gold get them ethical jewels in precious metals. 

• Millennials search for environmentally friendly, conflict-free items with a resale value and ones that can be exchanged in markets for other varieties. 

• They like the ones with a back-story or the inherited pieces, which can be made into new designs. Many new themes are offered online, and the buyers love customized pieces. 

• Modern jewellery brands are trying to create sustainable sets for buyers. 

• They are producing exclusively distinct designs made from recycled gold and vintage diamonds that offer ethically sourced metals and the rarest stones set in fashionable settings.  

• The buyers are not looking for super-wealthy heavy sets where the woman is draped in gemstones; they seek special pieces that can be made with a combination of many different types/colours of metals and stones. 

• Young investors seek affordable options, and several brands are extending direct supplies to customers to reduce costs.